Author's note: Thank you to the few people who have reviewed this story. Your opinions and advice are much appreciated. (By the way, sorry it took me so long to get this chapter done… Lately I have been busy beyond belief…)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the various Pokemon species unless I specifically say that I created that kind of monster. I did however, create the individual personalities of the characters in this story. I have no attention of getting money off of this story, thus you wouldn't get any money if you sued me. (Think of fan fictions as free advertising.)
Pokemon
Chapter 3: The First Trial
They were falling.
Dareno's right head shouted, "You're crazy! We're going to die! Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
"If I'm crazy then so are you! But there's a possibility that we might survive this!" shouted his left head.
"Oh yeah! How!" said the right head.
"How should I know, you're the one who's supposed to be good at coming up with a plan!"
"Me! How was I supposed to plan for something insane!"
"You don't have a plan? Aaaahhhhh!"
"Hey this is your area! Your supposed to be able to get us out of a physical problem like this!" accused the right head.
"Me?" exclaimed the left head, "What do you mean, me?"
"We're doomed!" yelled the right head.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" shouted both heads together.
Coren glanced around, "Tina, there's a stream over there! I can throw you in that direction so that you don't smash into the ground!"
"What, and I can drown? No thank you! I think I'll take my chances with you!" said Tina.
"Alright, try to stay above us so that you'll at least have us to cushion your landing!" said Coren.
The ground seemed to be rushing up to meet them. Here comes the ground, thought Coren, But why is it blue!
A huge wave swept over them, submerging them in cold water. The current rushed over them, causing them to tumble in unknown directions. Coren let go of Dareno and tried to swim to the surface, but the he was having trouble telling which way was "up". Tina started to lose her grip on Coren's hair and bit into the back of his shirt. Dareno kicked out his legs trying to swim, but to no avail.
The wave' swept them to the cliff, tossing them against the side. The water then drained away, leaving a very ragged, out of breath, and bruised group sprawled on the ground beneath the cliff. Coren slowly sat up, as both of Dareno's heads groaned. Tina climbed unsteadily to her feet. Dareno lifted up his left head and then dragged himself to his feet. Coren glanced around. Riding on the retreating wave was a goldeen.
A roar sounded out above their heads. Coren looked up in alarm, just in time to see the rhyhorn charge over the side of the cliff, about six yards away. The Rhyhorn started to run down the side of the cliff, and then tripped. He fell and tumbled down to the bottom.
Coren jumped to his feet. Dareno and Tina stood tense in alarm. The Rhyhorn grunted as he climbed to his feet. He spotted them and roared, tossing his head. His head lowered and he charged.
"No choice now! It's battle time!" said Dareno's left head.
"But he's at level 27 and we're at level 6! We don't stand a chance!" said the right head.
"Doesn't matter! The Rattata's only at level 5, and the kid's not going to be any good against him either." said the left head.
"And neither will we, we're only one level higher than Tiny!" said the right head.
"Tiny!" exclaimed Tina.
The two heads ignored Tina. The left head exclaimed, "Yes, but we're a flying type!"
The Rhyhorn was only a foot away now. Dareno growled at him, but the Rhyhorn was not very affected. The Rhyhorn charged at him, attempting to use Fury Attack, but missing. He ran by him. Coren and Tina backed up out of the way of the two combatants. Dareno used Peck, but the Rhyhorn hardly seemed to feel it. Rhyhorn used Horn Attack, charging at him and hit Dareno with his horn, sending him flying. Dareno hit the ground and crumpled. He had fainted.
The Rhyhorn turned and roared at Coren and Tina. Tina leapt forward and whipped her tail at Rhyhorn. He didn't seem all that fazed. The Rhyhorn used Tail Whip at Tina. (Don't ask the narrator how a Rhyhorn can use tail whip when he doesn't seem to even have a tail…) The Ryhorn ran towards Tina.
"Tina!" shouted Coren, and he ran towards her. The Rhyhorn reared up and prepared to strike Tina. Coren jumped at Tina knocking her out of the way.
The Rhyhorn came down and stomped on Coren. He gasped with pain as the his breath escaped him. Rhyhorn roared again and reared, Preparing to use Fury Attack. Coren inhaled sharply and tried to squirm away, but was in too much pain to move far. The Rhyhorn started to come down. Tina ran and leapt at him using Tackle. Unfortunately all she managed to tackle was the Rhyhorn's face. Aggravated the Rhyhorn Stomped his feet onto the ground, narrowly missing Coren's head. Tina clung to the Rhyhorn's head. He roared and tossed his head in frustration.
The Rhyhorn started running forward, charging towards the river. When he reached the edge of the river he roared and reared. He turned and tossing his head he charged again, running along the side of the river. Tina lost her grip and fell off. The Rhyhorn turned and charged at her. Rhyhorn used Fury Attack. Tina tried to dodge, but failed, as he hit her with his foot. She tripped and fell. He lowered his head and scooped her up with his horn. He tossed his head, sending her flying. She hit the ground and collapsed.
The Rhyhorn raised his head and roared. He looked around and saw that Coren had managed to climb into a sitting position. Rhyhorn charged at him. Coren inhaled, this is it... There's no way we'll survive this.
Suddenly an odd buzzing and confusing sound filled the air. The Rhyhorn stopped and looked around. Coren turned and looked towards the river. There, with her head sticking out of the water, was the goldeen that Coren had spotted earlier. The water swirled around the Goldeen, rising up, carrying her high into the air. The Rhyhorn stared at her in confusion. The water suddenly swelled and flowed under the Goldeen, rushing towards the Rhyhorn. He looked at the wave in apprehension. The water hit him with full force and tossed him against the cliff.
As the water receded from the cliff, the Rhyhorn weakly climbed to his feet. He looked at the Goldeen in alarm, made an odd grunting noise, and turned. Then ran away, following the stream, down-stream.
Coren looked at the Goldeen in amazement and gratitude, "Thank you."
The Goldeen returned Coren's amazement, "You are welcome... I am amazed that you can speak the Pokemon language."
"Yes it is amazing, but a Haunter named Posseser taught me how to speak it," Coren explained.
"Ah Posseser, he is the ghost guardian" said Goldeen, "But you and your Pokemon are injured, you should find something to heal yourselves with. Do you have any healing items?"
"Unfortunately, no, I don't have any." said Coren.
The Goldeen thought for a moment, and then said, "There is a patch of Berry trees upstream. If you will follow me then I will show you where it is."
"Alright," said Coren, "But what can I call you? Do you have a name?"
"No I do not have a name, you can simply call me Goldeen."
"I'd rather have a name to call you, that way it differentiates between you and all of the other goldeen." said Coren.
"Well I suppose I would not mind you giving me a name, as long as it is not a silly name." specified the Goldeen, so Coren thought about it. He remembered how she had risen up on the giant wave, so smoothly, easily, elegantly... Majestically...
"Hey!" exclaimed Coren, "How about Majesty?"
"Majesty..." said the Goldeen slowly, "Alright, I like that name."
"Good! In that case, Majesty, you said that there's a patch of berry trees upstream?"
"Indeed."
"What about the others? Do you think it will be alright to just leave Dareno and Tina here, unconscious?" asked Coren.
"They should be alright, the patch is not that far, and there are not many dangerous Pokemon around here." said Majesty.
"Alright," said Coren, climbing gingerly to his feet, "Lead the way."
Majesty slowly swam up-stream. Coren had to half stumble, half walk up-stream, following Majesty and the river bank. The small trees and brush made progress difficult. Finally, after a lot of panting and straining on Coren's part, they reached the patch of berry trees. The berry trees were on a small island in the middle of the river.
"Uh...Majesty? How am I supposed to reach them?" asked Coren.
"Are you too injured to swim?"
"Well, that's part of the problem, but also, aren't river currents hard to swim in?"
"If you are not use to swimming in currents, then I suppose it would be difficult." said Majesty, pausing to think, "If you come into the river, then I could try to pull you across."
"Alight," said Coren, a little hesitantly. He carefully stepped down into the water. Slowly walking over the rough pebbles and stones.
When he was chest high, Majesty swam up to him and said, "Hold onto my horn, but try not to struggle too much, it could interfere with my swimming ability. Stay on my right side, that way the current will push you into me."
"Right." said Coren. He carefully reached out with left hand, and took a firm, but gentle, hold at the base of Majesty's horn. Majesty started forward and towed Coren across the river.
Once at the island, Coren let go of Majesty and climbed out of the water. He swayed a little, readjusting to not having the water supporting his weight. He then walked over to the trees and picked a berry. He ate it and picked two more which he also ate.
Revitalized, he then picked a berry which he offered to Majesty, who gratefully accepted it. He picked four berries which he put into his back-pack.
"Majesty, what's the deal with this gold berry growing here?" asked Coren.
Majesty looked at the berry in something close to wonderment, "That is a Gold Berry, as you observed. It restores twenty more health points than normal berries."
"So is it okay if I pick it?" asked Coren.
"Yes, in fact, most berry trees re-grow berries by the day after they have been picked." Majesty told him. Coren carefully, and respectfully picked the Gold Berry and put it in his pack-back. Boy, I'm sure glad that I emptied my back-pack back in the valley. These Berries are practically the size of apples! In fact they are the size of small apples!
Coren zipped up his bag, put it on, and then walked back into the river, up to his stomach. "Majesty, are you willing to tow me back across the river?"
"I will do better then that, I will tow you back to where your Pokemon are, and then to the river bank," said Majesty.
"Okay," said Coren, reaching out his right hand and holding onto Majesty's horn. She then pulled him down stream, back to the other Pokemon, and brought him to the river bank.
Coren climbed out and ran over to Tina, kneeling next to her, "Tina, are you awake?" Tina moaned and opened her eyes.
"Coren," she whispered weakly, "you're alright."
"Yes, I'm fine and I've got some Berries for you." he opened his back-pack and handed her the Gold berry. Tina slowly ate it. By the time that she finished eating it, she had a lot of her strength back.
"Thank you, I feel much better," she said stretching her-self.
"I'm glad to hear it!" said Coren, "But I think that I'd better go give Dareno some of these Berries."
Startled, Tina looked over at the doduo, suddenly remembering all of the battle, "That would probably be a good idea."
Coren walked over to Dareno and knelt down again. "Hey Dareno, I know you don't have any reason to trust me, but I have some Berries for you."
Dareno managed to lift his right head, "Skip the trust, just give me those berries!" Coren handed him a berry. He ate it in no time, Coren handed him another one, which was gone in no time.
Dareno lifted up his left head as well, "Hey! how about giving me one of those!"
"Don't waste your strength," said the right head, "You'll be healed just as much as I will be."
"Yeah, but I won't get to taste it!" exclaimed the left head.
Coren looked at Tina, "Do you need any more?"
"Well I wouldn't mind having another one," Coren handed her one of the berries.
Coren then looked at Dareno and said, "Well, since your right head already had two, I'll give the last Berry to Dareno's left head." He handed the berry to the left head, who gobbled it up.
"Thank you!" said the left head, he then looked at the right head smugly.
"Well, yes, Thank you for giving those to us," said the right head.
"Yes Coren, thanks for the Berries," said Tina.
"You're all welcome very much. Especially since you two tried to defend me,"
"Do not the two Pokemon belong to you?" Majesty asked Coren.
"BELONG to him!" exclaimed Dareno's right head.
"NO WAY! We don't belong to a human!" said Dareno's left head.
"I should hope not!" exclaimed the right head.
"And I certainly don't belong to him, either," said Tina, somewhat indignant.
"No they don't belong to me," said Coren.
"If they do not belong to you, then why are they helping you? Even risking their lives for you?" asked Majesty.
Risking their lives! Thought Coren, She's right, they did risk their lives! They were helping each other, but still, they helped me at the same time. Me. "Wow," Coren breathed.
"Hey, that's right! we did risk our lives for the kid!" exclaimed Dareno's left head.
"We did, didn't we!" said the right head, "I told you we're crazy."
Majesty spoke again, "I am curious to know the explanation of this situation."
"Well," said Coren, recovering from his daze, "I was lost in the woods when Posseser taught me how to talk to Pokemon. However I need to go through the "Four trials of the Trainer", before he'll let me go home. I had already started to sort of make friends with Tina, and when I told her about the trials she agreed to help me."
"And as for Dareno, he just happened to be on the plain when that Rhyhorn charged at us. He was also kind enough to help us," Coren finished explaining.
"Kind? Ah shucks," said Dareno's left head, "It really wasn't anything."
Dareno's right head snorted, "Wasn't anything, You call taking on a monster 21 levels higher than you nothing?"
"Well, I was trying to sound noble," the left head explained.
"Noble!" muttered the right head.
"So how are we going to get back to the valley?" Tina asked Coren.
"Oh boy, that's a good question. It could be kind of tricky getting back up that cliff, huh?" said Coren.
"Valley?" asked Majesty, "What valley?"
"Mew Valley, the famous Pokemon resting and breeding ground. You see Coren and I accidentally stumbled into the valley, and since Coren's a human, the guardians didn't exactly like that. That's why Coren can't go home unless he completes Posseser's Trainer Trials." explained Tina.
Coren thought for a moment, while looking at the surrounding country. "I suppose we could head... downstream is it?" asked Coren looking at the direction that the river was flowing. "I can never remember which way is which, is downstream the way that the river is flowing, or the direction that it came from?"
"Try thinking of it this way," suggested Majesty, "If you're in the stream and you let the water carry you, then the current brings you down the stream. On the other hand, when you are going against the current, you are going up the stream."
"That might work," said Coren, "Anyway, I suppose if we head that way than we might find a lower way back to the valley. Maybe even a way back to the path that we were following before."
"I suppose it's worth a try," said Tina.
"So you agree about following the stream?" asked Coren.
"Sure, I haven't got any better ideas," replied Tina.
"Bye Dareno. Bye Majesty. Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate your help," said Coren.
"What do mean by bye?" asked Dareno's left head, "we're going with you!"
"We are?" Dareno's right head asked raising his eye-brows.
"Well we haven't got anything else to do, and besides, maybe they'll find a way back up the cliff and we'll be able to get home," said the left head.
"Oh, I suppose," sighed the right head, but then he warned, "but don't think that we'll be doing a lot of human rescuing."
So Coren, Tina, and Dareno walked downstream. Majesty accompanied them, only she was swimming of course, not walking.
"Why are you coming with us?" asked Coren.
"I am not. Not entirely at least. You see I was already traveling in this direction before all of you jumped off the cliff," said Majesty.
After they had been walking for sometime, they came to the top of a water fall.
"Now how are we going to get to the bottom of this?" asked Coren, looking over the cliff that was next to the water fall.
"Well, getting to the bottom of the water fall is a simple matter for me. I shall simply leap over the edge and land in the water on the bottom. However I am unsure how the rest of you are to get down," said Majesty, from her position resting behind a cluster of rocks, so that the current would not pull her over.
"I suppose we could jump..." said Dareno's right head, a bit uncertainly.
"Jump!" exclaimed his left head, "And you called me crazy!"
Majesty swam by them and leapt into the air, soaring over the fall and diving into the water below.
"I suppose I could slide down," Coren contemplated, looking at the water-fall cliff. It was quite steep, but it wasn't completely vertical. "If I'm careful, I think I can get down by climbing."
"If you can climb down than I definitely can," said Tina.
"Well, why don't you wait until I've made it to the bottom, that way I can catch you if you slip," suggested Coren.
Tina looked at him speculatively, "I suppose. I really don't think that I'll fall. I'm pretty good at climbing."
"All right then, I'll go first," said Coren, moving to the edge of the waterfall cliff. Carefully, Coren turned and lowered himself down, onto a small ledge. He then slowly worked his way down the cliff side.
About two feet from the bottom, Coren slipped. "Oof" Coren exclaimed, as he tumbled down the rest of the way.
"Coren! Are you alright?", Tina called.
Coren finally rolled to a stop at the bottom. "Yeah," he groaned as he climbed to his feet. "I mean yes," he said changing from his original language to the Pokemon language, "I guess that's one way to get down."
"Alright, I am coming down now," said Tina. She trotted over to the edge and scurried down the side, hopping from ledge to ledge, and in some places climbing strait down.
"Geeze, you sure did that easily enough," said Coren. Tina looked at him with what Coren could have sworn was a smug grin.
"Dareno! What about you," called Coren.
"I don't know," said Dareno's right head.
"Well," said Dareno's left head, "It's not that steep, not as high as the last cliff we jumped off of."
"Yes, I suppose so," said the right head, "Alright, I'll agree with you if you want to try it."
"Try what? You mean jumping?" asked left head.
"Of course that's what I mean! What else would I mean!" exclaimed right head.
"I'm just double checking," said left head, "I'd hate to have a disagreement about this, it could mess up the jump."
"I wish you'd checked last time," muttered right head.
"Hey, I didn't exactly have that much spare time last time," said left head.
"True. Alright, let's do it," said right head. Dareno tensed himself, and then ran forward. He then sprang forward, leaping off of the cliff.
He landed hard, and went rolling. He stopped after a few feet, and shakily stood up.
"Are you alright!" asked Coren concerned.
"Ooooh," moaned Dareno's left head.
"I think so," said the right head.
"Alright you guys, let's get going. It's starting to get late," said Coren.
They continued onwards, and in the case of Majesty swimming, as twilight set in.
Suddenly a howl rang out from the forest.
"That sounded like it was really close!" said Dareno's left head. Tensely, he looked around. Another howl sounded, joined by still more howls.
"That sounds like a Houndour or growlithe pack," stated Majesty.
"Wait a minute," said Tina looking around, "This looks like Charcoal's territory! This is not good… He really dislikes humans."
"Why? What did humans do to him?" asked Coren.
"I don't know why, I just know that he doesn't like humans," explained Tina, "He's also part of the Mew Valley protection link. So it's even his job to chase humans out of here... or worse."
"Worse?" Coren swallowed hard.
"And so what would his howling mean?" asked Dareno's right head.
"It probably means that his pack and him have woken up and are about to start on their nightly patrols," said Tina.
"In that case," said Dareno's right head, "I would suggest that we strategically remove ourselves from his territory, before he notices us."
"That's assuming that he doesn't pick up our scent and trail us," said Tina. "But you're right, we should get moving."
"Does anyone know how far his territory extends?" asked Majesty. Dareno and Coren looked expectantly at Tina.
"I haven't the faintest idea," said Tina. The others stared at her. "What?"
"You seemed to know rather a lot about this Charcoal Pokemon," Majesty pointed out.
Tina sighed and shook her head, "What I told you is pretty much all I know. The only other thing I know about him is that he has a pack of Houndour and Growlithes."
"Well, I guess we'd better just keep heading back toward the valley," said Coren, heading onwards. The others followed him.
Half an hour later...
"We haven't heard any howls in a while," said Dareno's left head, looking around wearily.
"I would imagine not," said Dareno's right head, "After all, not many Pokemon make lots of noise while going hunting or patrolling."
All of a sudden a sharp bark rang out behind them. Dareno's heads shot up, and he spun around. "I think they've found us!" said his left head.
"Roo, roo, roooooo." a Growlithe howled from the bushes behind them. He stopped howling and leered out at them, two yellow eyes glaring from the darkness. The Growlithe leapt out of the bushes and roared. Tina dove under a nearby bush and peered out from beneath it. Majesty slipped under the surface of the water. Dareno jumped and, turning in midair, ran towards the thicker trees.
Just as he was about to enter them a Houndour loomed up out of the trees. He too, used leer. Dareno turned sharply and raced back to Coren. Houndour and Growlithe emerged out of the trees, forming a circle around Coren and Dareno.
Two of the Houndour parted, letting a tall male Houndour through. His fur was as black as the night, which had finally settled around them. His muzzle, chest and under-side were a deep mahogany. Moonlight glinted off of his bone-like armor, and his eyes shined like blood red rubies.
"I am Charcoal," said the Houndour, "leader of this pack, and guardian of this land which you have trespassed upon. If you were merely Pokemon than I could let you pass, but since you have brought a human here, you must be stopped.
"In the sense of fairness, I will give you a headstart. You have until the count of five." Some of the Growlithes and Houndour moved aside, leaving an opening.
"ONE" said Charcoal.
Dareno jumped into the air, and raced through the opening. Coren followed him out of the circle.
"TWO"
Coren suddenly heard a squeak from behind him. He slowed and looked over his shoulder.
"Tina!" Coren shouted, seeing Tina struggling to untangle her-self from a bush.
"Three"
Coren ran back to Tina and knelt down. He managed to untangle her.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed.
"Four"
Coren grabbed Tina, causing her to half gasp, half squeak in surprise. He then ran.
"Five"
The Houndour and Growlithes surged forward.
"Dareno!" Coren shouted. Dareno's right head looked back. "Tina!" said Coren, holding her up.
Dareno's right head took a deep breath and said, "Looks like we get to play hero again." Dareno turned around and ran back to Coren. But instead of stopping he leapt completely over Coren's head.
Coren spun around just in time to see Dareno peck a Growlithe. The Growlithe responded by biting Dareno. Dareno responded by pecking him. The growlithe collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Coren turned and crouching, held out Tina and said, "Tina, go!" Tina jumped out of his hands, touched the ground, turned and ran towards the pack. "Tina no!" Coren cried in alarm, "That's not what I meant!"
Tina tackled a Houndour. The Houndour responded by roaring, but it didn't affect Tina. Tina tackled him again. The Houndour used Ember. As a burst of fire hit her, Tina stumbled and coughed.
"Tina!" Coren called in distress, forgetting to speak in the Pokemon language, "Use tackle again!"
Tina heard him and, pulling herself to her feet, used tackle. The houndour stumbled.
"Tackle him!" Coren called. Again, Tina tackled the Houndour. Letting out a moan, he collapsed.
"Good job Tina!" called Coren.
Mean-while, Dareno had been fighting a Houndour. Dareno used growl, lowering the Houndour's attack power. Houndour leered at Dareno, lowering Dareno's Defense. Houndour used Ember, but Dareno dodged it. Houndour used smog. Dareno stood still, trying to locate his opponent through the thick blackness. Suddenly an Ember attack came soaring out of the smog and hit Dareno. Dareno squawked and collapsed.
"Dareno!" Coren called. Oh my gosh, I hope Dareno's all right. Coren turned back to Tina. A Houndour and a Growlithe were attacking.
"Tina use tail whip!" Called Coren. Tina used tail whip, lowering her attackers defense.
"Use tackle on the houndour!" Coren instructed. Tina tackled the houndour. The Houndour roared.
The Growlithe bit Tina, who collapsed.
"Tina!" Coren cried. Now what! Suddenly Coren caught sight of Majesty watching from the River.
"Majesty! Use surf on them!" Coren said. He then grabbed a stick on the ground and waved it at the Growlithe and Houndour that were now gathering around him.
Majesty used surf, rising up on a huge wave. The wave crashed down on the houndour and growlithes. Some of them fainted, but Charcoal, another Houndour and a Growlithe were still going strong.
"Night Stalker use Leer on the human!" commanded Charcoal, "Lethal bite the Goldeen!"
Night Stalker, the houndour, used Leer on Coren, and Lethal, the growlithe, bit Majesty.
"Majesty use peck on the Growlithe!" Coren called. Majesty pecked the Growlithe, knocking him out.
Charcoal and Night Stalker lunged at Coren.
"Use Surf!" Coren commanded. Once again, Majesty rose upon a giant wave. The wave thundered down onto the Houndour. Night Stalker fainted. Charcoal gave out a howl and collapsed.
Coren picked up Tina and quickly walked over to Dareno. "Dareno?", asked Coren, "Are you alright?"
Dareno moaned and picked his right head up, "We appear to still be in one piece." He pecked lightly at the left head.
"Hey! Cut that out!" exclaimed left head. Dareno got to his feet.
"Um... I don't mean to intrude, or anything, but do you think you could carry us out of here?" Coren asked Dareno.
"What do think we are, a travel service!" exclaimed left head.
"Oh come on, Left, there's no way Coren could out run these crazy Pokemon, and who knows how long they'll stay down? Beside I thought you wanted to be a hero back there?" said right head.
"Oh alright already! We'll carry you," said left head.
"Thank you," said Coren.
"So are you going to ask how I'm doing or not?" asked Tina in a raspy voice, looking up from her position cradled in Coren's arms.
Coren quickly looked at the Rattata in his arms, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! Are you alright?"
Tina smiled almost sheepishly, "Yeah. I'm alright." Tina wriggled deeper into Coren's arms and shirt, "I will need some time to rest before the next battle though."
"Good. I'm glad you're alright. Okay Dareno, are you ready?" asked Coren.
"Yep, go ahead and get on," said right head. Coren climbed onto Dareno's back.
Coren looked over at the river, where Majesty was. "Will you be able to manage alright?"
"Of course," replied Majesty.
"Okay then, let's go!" said Coren putting a lose hand on Dareno's right neck, to steady him-self as Dareno took off running beside the stream. Majesty swam with them.
Dareno followed the stream around a bend for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Look! left head exclaimed, sticking his head toward the valley that lay before them.
"We made it back!" exclaimed Tina.
Coren, Tina, Dareno, and Majesty all found some food (including some of the healing Berries) and had a late supper. Then Majesty swam off to find a quiet section of water to sleep in. Coren, Tina and Dareno found some soft ferns, moss and other plants beneath some trees. They then settled down for the night.
Just as Coren was drifting off to sleep, a dark purple shape appeared in front of him. "What the!" Coren exclaimed, sitting up. Dareno and Tina raised their heads in alarm.
"Greetings" said the purple shape, which turned out to be a Haunter.
"Posseser!" exclaimed Coren. Tina and Dareno watch curiously.
"Indeed," said Posseser, "Coren, you have completed the first trial."
"I have!" Coren asked, "How! When!"
"In the battle with the Houndour and Growlithes you commanded Tina and Majesty, guiding them to victory. The first Trial calls for you to convince wild Pokemon to follow at least five of your commands. You have done so.
"The second Trial calls for you to win a Pokemon battle."
"Uh... Posseser, didn't we just do that?" asked Coren.
"Yes, but it does not meet the requirments."
"Oh… So what are the requirments?"
"To accomplish the second Trial you are to win a customary Pokemon Battle, with one Pokemon fighting one Pokemon at a time. Do you have any further questions?" said Posseser.
Coren thought for a moment and replied, "I don't think so."
"Very well," and with that, Posseser vanished in a haze of purple mist.
